San Jose State football report card: Grading the loss to Utah

We’ll update the bowl math, then get into the events of Saturday evening.

At 1-2, the Spartans must win five of their final nine to be eligible for the postseason. Two of those nine are the daunting short-week roadtrips to Boise State and San Diego State.

If you were to reasonably assume losses in both games, the Spartans need to win five of their final seven … they must go 5-2 against teams that aren’t BSU or SDSU.

Based on performance of Mountain West competition thus far, five more wins isn’t out of reach, but SJSU cannot waste chances.

One such opportunity … one of the very best, in fact … comes this week.

Result: Lost to Utah 34-17

Grade: C-

Comment: To keep the game close into the final minutes … much less win it … the Spartans needed Utah to be a half-step off its game, and SJSU had to play pretty darn close to perfect.

The Spartans didn’t approach that standard with three turnovers, which became 17 Utah points, plus 10 sacks allowed.

Yes, it ended as a wipeout, but don’t forget that SJSU jumped to a 10-6 lead before Utah reeled off 28 unanswered points to put the game out of reach.

Three-plus seasons into the Ron Caragher era, is it reasonable to think the Spartans should be more competitive at home against a not-overpowering Pac-12 opponent? You could make the case that it’s not unreasonable at all, actually.

Beyond SJSU’s mistakes and the 17 points Utah scored off said mistakes, the difference was the play up front, which isn’t surprising — Utah is typically as strong as any team in the Pac-12 on the lines of scrimmage.

*** SJSU backup quarterback Josh Love was impressive in his ability to deliver the ball downfield.

Kenny Potter’s mobility is an asset, but he doesn’t have the arm strength for SJSU to constantly push the ball into the middle and deep passing routes.

But Love showed some zip, and zip is essential for stretching the field.

I’m not at all suggesting the Spartans make a quarterback change if Potter is healthy enough to play. But is Love an intriguing option in the future … or if this season goes off the rails? Yes, he is.

*** The sample size is admittedly small — three games — but SJSU’s performance against Portland State (FCS) sure looks like the outlier, at least in three crucial categories:

Good thing for the Spartans that their next opponent is FBS in name only …

Next up: at Iowa State

The matchup: Favorable.

Iowa State is the worst team in the Big 12, one of the very worst in all the Power 5 conference. Moreover, the Cyclones are a bad program — they don’t have the talent, depth, recruiting base or resources to compete with the top half of the Big 12.

Consider their recent history:

No winning seasons this decade
3-9 last year
2-10 the year before that
3-9 the year before that

*** The Spartans opened as a 6-point underdog, and their success depends, to a large extent, on Potter’s health and mobility.

But if they respond well to the early start (9 a.m. PT), and if they keep gaffes to a minimum … they can’t give the Cyclones easy points via turnovers and special teams … there is no reason SJSU can’t win.